With millions of Americans moving each year and summer being the most popular time of the year to move, the personal-finance website WalletHub recently released its report on “2024’s Best States to Live In.”
WalletHub compared the 50 states across 51 key indicators of livability. They range from housing costs and income growth to the education rate and hospital systems.
The top 20 states (in ranking order) to live in America, according to the survey were Massachusetts, Florida, New Jersey, Utah, New Hampshire, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New York, Wyoming, Virginia, Iowa, Minnesota, Maine, Montana, Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Kansas.
The best versus worst takeaways from the survey included:
- Maine has the fewest violent crimes (per 1,000 residents), which is 7.6 times less than in New Mexico, the state with the most.
- New Hampshire has the lowest share of residents living in poverty, which is 2.6 times lower than in Mississippi, the state with the highest.
- South Dakota has the shortest average commute time, which is 1.9 times shorter than in New York, the state with the longest.
- Tennessee has the highest quality of roads, which is 5.4 times higher than in Rhode Island, the state with the lowest.